1.2. What is cryptocurrency?
What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency has already become a full-fledged part of the new financial world, attracting with its prospects not only numerous private investors, but also large businesses.
Cryptocurrency is virtual money that is usually not tied to assets. They are used only on the Internet.
Cryptocurrency is not managed and is protected from inflation. The speed of payments and the amount of commissions for the exchange of cryptocurrencies are generally lower than in the conventional currency market.
Cryptocurrency is now seen as an investment, a possible defensive asset, and even as a paycheck in the metaverses – digital worlds where you can create avatars, play games, go shopping and communicate.
The efficiency of all these systems is supported by blockchain technology.
Any cryptocurrency works on the blockchain, from bitcoin and ethereum to meme coins like Dogecoin. Cryptocurrency is more often used to capitalize on increased volatility, some of the coins can double in value in a week, but in strategic plans, visionaries see it as a tool for mass money transfers.
In the cryptocurrency market, exchange services are an integral part of it.
On the exchange, you can change one cryptocurrency for another, exchange the state currency for a cryptocurrency, and vice versa.
Before investing your money, you need to study all the pros and cons.
Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of cryptocurrency.
Advantages of cryptocurrency:
Decentralization
Decentralization is a new format for securing money. No one can steal a transfer, send it to another account, as is sometimes the case in ordinary banks. Fraudsters also exist in the digital world, but their methods are different: people themselves install fake applications, transfer private keys, send coins.
Anonymity
Transactions do not require personal information. To transfer coins to another user, it is enough to know the wallet address and private keys to access the assets. The owner’s name, personal data, and other information are not displayed. In this regard, the cryptocurrency is anonymous.
Low price of translations
Cryptocurrency opportunities do not depend on the country, distance or other factors. It is easy to make a transaction and send coins to a user in another state. At the same time, the size of the commission is not determined by the amount of the transfer and other factors that usually affect the cost of traditional cross-border transfers in banks. So when sending 1 bitcoin and 100 bitcoins, the commission will be the same, it does not depend on the amount»
No inflation
Cryptocurrency is not so highly prone to inflation. Many projects have a limited issue, which has a positive effect on the asset price. For example, Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, whose identity has not been established, limited the maximum number of bitcoins at 21 million. However, there are also coins with unlimited emission, such coins are inflationary
Alternative to gold (for bitcoin)
Bitcoin, is often compared to bank metals, called digital gold. The currency is gradually growing in value. Even if the rate falls, it is not for long. Unlike physical gold, cryptocurrency does not require large storage costs. Metals go a long way to the bank.
Great investment opportunities
The low threshold for entering the market allows everyone who has access to the Internet and a small capital to work and make a profit. A potential investor must understand the peculiarities of the market, understand the mechanism of the processes that exist in the digital world.
There are disadvantages that prevent virtual assets from taking the place of fiat money:
Volatility
The change in the exchange rate against the fiat dollar sometimes amounts to tens of percent per day. Beginners in trading can lose money at the first fall of the course.
High Commissions
In the beginning of crypto era, when there was no demand, the load on the network allowed transactions to be carried out without a large reward. At some points, the commission in popular networks reached values at which a transaction of a small amount was unprofitable.
It is impossible to predetermine the amount of the fee and the time of the transaction. You can set your own reward value for miners, but at the same time expect the operation to be completed longer than usual.
The complexity of perception by society
The complexity of perception by society is the reason for the mistrust of users. Cryptocurrency is not easy to access. It is necessary to have knowledge, understand the nature of digital assets in order to use coins.
Scammers
One of the disadvantages of cryptocurrency is the irreversibility of transactions. The transaction cannot be canceled or adjusted. No one will return the coins obtained by criminal means. This is often used by scammers.
Cryptocurrency Anonymity: Fact or Fiction?
Satoshi Nakamoto claimed that his cryptocurrency is anonymous. As it turned out later, by this definition he meant the user’s ability not to provide any personal data at the time of receiving a digital coin
If today, as before, bitcoins were mined only through mining, then the cryptocurrency would indeed be anonymous. However, due to the rules set by major exchanges, many bitcoin addresses can be linked to real people and receive actual confirmation of how much the owner of one wallet has sent to the owner of another. And also find out the specific amount of funds that is in a particular account.